Adam Yates Takes Over in Turkey

Posted On 02 May 2014

AFP / Yuzuru Sunada

Young British rider Adam Yates took over the leader’s jersey at the Tour of Turkey after winning Friday’s 183km sixth stage from Bodrum to Selcuk. On a hilly course, the 21-year-old beat Italians Davide Formolo and Davide Rebellin by two seconds in a solo attack on the uphill finish. Previous leader Rein Taaramae had started the day 6 seconds ahead of Yates, whose twin brother Simon is also a professional cyclist, but lost 7 seconds on the stage in coming home fourth.

Yates’s victory continued his Orica GreenEDGE team’s impressive recent form coming a day after Swiss Michael Albasini’s stage victory at the Tour of Romandie. It also came less than a week after Australian Simon Gerrans won the prestigious Liege-Bastogne-Liege race for the team from his homeland.

With just two stages remaining, Yates holds a one second lead over Cofidis’s Taaramae with Frenchman Romain Hardy, who was seventh in Selcuk, 39 seconds behind. Saturday’s seventh stage of the 50th edition of this race is a 132km ride from Kusadasi to Izmir.